Carla Suárez in a picture she shared on her Twitter page in April on restarting training, barely three months after finishing cancer treatment
SPANISH tennis star Carla Suárez set off for Paris today (Tuesday) ready for the French Open at the city's Roland Garros stadium, her first tournament in 17 months.
The last time Carla, from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, played professionally was in Doha on February 25, 2020, just before the pandemic brought the world sporting calendar to an abrupt halt.
And when the WTA circuit restarted at the end of last year, Carla was in treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
She was diagnosed just days before her 32nd birthday – which is September 3 – and spent months going through chemotherapy, with her last session being on January 25.
By early April, she was already back in training and quietly confident of getting through to the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Carla, who finished last year as WTA world number 44, had actually been planning to retire from the sport in 2020, after the Olympics – but as the Games were sacrificed to Covid in the same way as all other global sports, it is likely she would have reconsidered giving up even if she had not been diagnosed with cancer.
At the moment, her plan is to retire after 2021, but as she is determined to 'go out with a bang', her results over the rest of the season may mean she ends up playing it by ear.
It could be she is not back to her best, and that by treating 2021 as a 'mock exam', another year on could see her return to form and providing a more satisfying scenario for calling time on her career.
“I'm tremendously excited to be able to take part in the Roland Garros,” Suárez says.
“I've been working these last few months to give myself a chance to compete one last time on clay in Paris.
“I'm very keen to jump back onto the court and once again feel how special this tournament has always been for me.
Carla Suárez the last time she played at Roland Garros, in 2019 (photo: Si.Robi/Wikimedia Commons)
“Tennis has given me lots, and I've always wanted my farewell to be on the court; being able to choose the last stroke, being able to put a date on it myself, is something I've always wanted from the heart. This was the desire that has spurred me on to train hard in recent times.”
Carla has played the Paris Open 11 times, reaching the quarter-finals in her début WTA year, 2008, and again in 2014.
“Roland Garros is a tournament that has given me some of the best moments of my career,” Carla reveals.
“My first decent result was on this court, and I've got some really good memories after all these years – it's a delight to be able to be there for the last time, competing in Paris.
“The next few days are going to be really lovely, and I hope I'll be able to enjoy them to the maximum.”
Carla's WTA début year, when she was 20, was also the year of her first Olympics, in Peking, and if she gets to Tokyo, it will be her fourth Games on the trot.
She fell at the first round in Peking, but has managed to progress one round at each consecutive Olympics – reaching the second round in London 2012 and the third in Rio 2016.
The cut-off date for Tokyo is June 7, meaning her performance at Roland Garros will be a crucial decider.
If she does earn her pass for the Olympics, Carla hopes Wimbledon – between June 28 and July 11 – will be a dress rehearsal for Tokyo, and she is determined to get to the UK's most famous tennis fixture this year.
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